Many homes have showers within bath tubs alternatively called shower tubs consisting of a shower head that directs water on a person who seeks to wash themselves. These showers generally have at least three walls, a ceiling, a tub to contain the shower water or bath water at the bottom of the shower and a shower curtain, preventing water either directly from the shower head or indirectly from the walls or person from wetting areas outside of the shower tub. Even though the primary purpose of the shower head is to apply water to the person's body for wetting before soaping and for rinsing, it is difficult to prevent water from wetting the walls of the shower tub, including the tub itself and the shower curtain.
The shower curtain is typically affixed at a top end by a series of clamps or rings which insert over a shower curtain rod. The curtain hangs downwardly, providing a partition between the shower stall and the rest of the bathroom area. It is common, and recommended, that the shower user tuck the bottom end of the shower curtain inside the tub, thereby avoiding any splashing of water from out of the shower stall.
Due to the fact that the bottom end of the curtain hangs within the tub area, it is common for such bottom end to come in contact with the inner surface of the tub. Further, when water is introduced, the curtain tends to stick to the inner surface of the tub. If the curtain is not completely dried after each use, mold and mildew growth is promoted between the curtain and tub inner surface. Further, due to the effects of gravity, the bottom end of the shower curtain is always the last area of the curtain to dry. Realistically, the shower curtain, and especially the bottom end, is never completely dried after each use of the shower. In fact, it is usually completely saturated. The water that wets the walls, tub and curtain is of concern, because in many situations, accumulated the water causes mold, mildew, fungus, bacteria etc.
In addition, as the water on the shower curtain evaporates, iron, calcium and soap residue can remain on the curtain. This residue makes the shower look dirty, covering the shine of wall materials such as tile, glass, etc.
In fact, during the drying process, any places wherein the wetted portion of the shower curtain touches either the walls of the shower tub, the tub itself or other folds in the shower curtain are potential places for mold, mildew, bacteria and residue build-up.
During subsequent showers, the residue from previous showers leads to additional retention of water on the walls, thereby leading to additional buildup of deposits, until the walls are later cleaned using cleaning fluids that break down the deposits and rinse them away, often requiring the use of a bristle brush to free the deposits from the wall surfaces and bleaching or replacing the shower curtain.
Additional problems with showering is prevention of mold, mildew and bacteria growth from bathing implements such as washcloths, loofa sponges, back brushes, soft scrub bathing sponges and the like. Normally such implements are placed in a wet condition on the wall of the tub, hanging on the shower head or placed on either the shower knobs or the tub faucet to dry. However, in these situations, the wet bathing implement is in contact with a wet surface. Like the shower curtain touching the walls of the shower tub, the inner wall of the tub itself or wetted folds in the shower curtain, the contact between the bathing implements and any wetted surface can be a breeding ground for mold, mildew, and bacteria, which is then applied to the body of the user upon subsequent showering.
It would therefore be beneficial to have a device capable of retracting and moving a wet shower curtain from resting against either the walls of the shower tub, the inside wall of the tub itself or wherein wet shower curtain folds are touching other wet shower curtain folds during the drying process. Such a device would eliminate the need to bleach or change the shower curtain, thus saving time and money. Further, such a device could incorporate hangars for showering implements such that they are able to dry and not grow mold, mildew or bacteria.